Ice rescue boat



United States Patent 13,532,066

[72] lnventor RussellE.Clemans [56] ReferencesCited Kankakee, Illinois UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 pp 5 861,607 7/1907 Pfeifer 114/43 1221 3,057,315 10/1962 Robishaw. 114/.51F1ux [45] Patented Oct.6,l970

. 3,195,154 7/1965 Swanson 9/6 [73] Asslgnee Twenty-five percent to Michael R. Buz

Kankakee, Illinois FOREIGN PATENTS assignedapartinterestto 417,317 8/1925 Germany 114/43 [54] [CE RESCUE BOAT Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Attorne Stone, Zummer and Livingston ABSTRACT: An ice rescue boat, which has a length greater than the height of a man and a width of approximately two feet, has an elongated flat bottom with upwardly curved ends at opposed elongated ends. A support for a rescuer is positioned above and connected to the flat bottom. A closed cell,

light weight rigid material is positioned between the support and the flat bottom to provide a buoyant material for the boat to provide sufficient buoyancy to support the rescuer and a rescued individual.

rcr: RESCUE BOAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The operation of rescuing an individual, who has broken through ice and is in water, is usually very dangerous for the rescuer. Bearing in mind that most individuals who break through ice are children, it is readily apparent that when a fully grown and fully clothed man goes out to rescue the child, the rescuer places himself in a hazardous position. Ordinarily, the ice which broke under the childs weight will break under the weight of the man. A further problem is encountered in that ice which was capable of supporting the child may not be capable of supporting a fully grown man so that the rescuer may break through ice on his way to make a rescue.

Most of the work of rescuing individuals who have broken through ice is done by policemen or firemen. The policemen or firemen customarily use a ladder as an instrument for providing safety for the rescuer and a means of reaching the individual over dangerous ice. The ladderis placed onthe ice and is moved out toward the individual in danger. Then, the rescuer crawls out on the ladder to the individual in danger. It is particularly desirable to have one end of the ladder on shore so that the rescuer does not break through the ice and fall into danger before he mounts the ladder. In many instances, it is not possible to have one end of the ladder on shore and have the other end extend to the individual in danger because the ladder is too short. This means that the rescuer must move the ladder out along the ice and expose himself to the danger of falling through the ice himself. Even when the ladder is placed adjacent to the individual in danger, the rescuer in many instances must climb out to the end of the ladder so that there is the danger that the weight of the ladder plus the weight of the man may cause the ice to break, andladder and rescuer may fall into the water with the individual who had originally broken through the ice. Even if the rescuer does not fall into the water, the ice in many instances has a tendency to crack so that a portion of the ladder may be in the water, and it is difficult for the rescuer to hold onto the person in danger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved construction of an ice rescue boat which is used instead of a ladder in the rescue of one or more individuals who have broken through ice and are in water. The present ice boat is light weight in construction and may be readily propelled by a single individual over ice or snow. The construction of the boat is such that the boat has a flat bottom so that the weight of the rescuer and the boat is distributed over a wide area thereby decreasing the possibility of breaking through supporting ice. The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved ice rescue boat construction, which boat may be readily manipulated by a single rescuer on the ice and utilization of the boat minimizes the exposure of the rescuer to a dangerous situation during the rescue operation.

It is another object of the hereindisclosed invention to provide an ice rescue boat which may be used in a rescue operation to remove from water an individual who has broken through ice and the rescue operation is facilitated for the rescuer so that an individual in danger may be quickly and efficiently rescued.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an ice rescue boat construction wherein the construction is such that the rescuer may in safety hold onto an individual, who has broken through ice, even should the ice rescue boat break through ice adjacent to the individual.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an ice rescue boat construction which is stable and light weight but has sufficient buoyancy to support a rescuer and at least one individual who is being rescued.

It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide an improved ice rescue boat which is economical to manufacture and requires a minimum of maintenance.

Other objects and uses of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following specification in light of the accompanying drawrng.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, an ice rescue boat generally indicated by numeral 10 is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The boat 10 has a specific construction wherein the overall length is 12 feet and the width is 26V2 inches. The overall height ofthe boat is approximately 10 inches. The length of the boat is substantially greater than the width of the boat, and the width of the boat is sufficiently great to accommodate a man, but the man may have his arms extended over the sides in order to manipulate the boat, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

In this specific preferred embodiment of the instant ice rescue boat, the boat includes a pair of wooden sides 12 and 14, each of which has opposed curved ends. A bottom 16 is secured to the sides l2'and 14 by a plurality of screws on ten inch centers. In this instance, the bottom is a single piece of waterproof fiberboard which is bent around the curved ends of the sides 12 and 14. Thus, the bottom of the boat has a smooth continuous surface which will not catch or impede the movement of the boat during a rescue operation, but rather the boat will glide smoothly and freely over ice or snow.

Fixed to one end of sides 12 and 14 is a rigid cross support 18 which in this instance is an angle iron formingthe-upper edge of the bow of the boat. A second rigid cross support 20 is fixed to the other end of the sides and is also an angle iron and forms the upper edge of the stern of the boat. A plurality of top supports 22 is fixed to the upper edges of the sides 12 and 14. In this instance, the top supports are 2 inch by 1 inch wooden strips and there are thirteen such top supports evenly spaced along the upper surface of the sides. These top supports provide means for supporting a rescuer on the upper surface of the boat. Three waterproof fiberboard panels 24 are positioned between adjacent top supports as may be seen in FIG. 2 near the middle of the sides 12 and 14. The space between the means for supporting a rescuer and the bottom, 1

as well as the space between sides 12 and 14, is filled with a plurality of blocks of a rigid, closed cell foam material 26. In

this instance, styrofoam is utilized as the foam material for its light weight and its closed cell construction; however, any other suitable material may be used. The styrofoam blocks are adhesively secured to the bottom and the sides so that there is no shift of the styrofoam relative to the bottom or the sides.

In order to provide means for propelling the boat, a-pair of pull pins 28 and 30'are connected to the sides 12 and 14 respectively. Each pull pin is approximately 18 inches long and has a point at one end. The pull pins 28 and 30 have chains 32 and 34, respectively, attached to the other end of the respective pull pins. The chains have a length of approximately 36 inches, and chains 32 and 34 are fixedly connected to eye-bolts 36 and 38, respectively, which eye-bolts .36 and.

38 are secured to sides 12 and 14, respectively. Three identical handles 40 are fixed to side 12, and three identical handles 42 are fixed to side 14. The handles 40 and 42 are equidistantly spaced along the respective sides and provide a convenient means for a person being rescued to hold onto the ice rescue boat or a place for attachment of straps or ropes to secure a person onto the boat. The cross support 18 has an eye-bolt 44 attached thereto to provide a ring extending from the bow of the boat which is a convenient means for attaching a line of a life ring to the boat should a life ring be used. The rigid cross support 20 has a U-bolt 46 fixed thereto at its center to provide a loop extending from the stern which is a convenient means for attaching a safety line to the ice rescue boat.

From the foregoing description, it may be seen that the construction is quite simple and economical. However, the construction is quite rigid. The bow and stem of the ice rescue boat have angle irons which provide a substantial amount of rigidity. Within the interior of the boat, there is an angle iron positioned at the beginning of each of the curves, adjacent to the bottom to provide further rigidity to the boat construction, which angle irons are not shown herein. The bottom of the boat is a continuous sheet of material so that there is no opportunity for anything to hook or snag the boat. The top portion provides support for a rescuer but is relatively open so that the weight of the ice rescue boat is held at a minimum. The fiberboard panels 24 provide a place for the rescuer to place his feet so that he does not scuff or cut into the styrofoam 26. The specific construction set forth herein has a weight of approximately 120 pounds but has a buoyancy of around 900 pounds, which is adequate to support a rescuer and at least two average sized individuals being rescued.

The ice rescue boat is used in the following manner. A safety line 48 is attached to the U-bolt 46 and an individual who acts as the rescuers partner stays in a safe place and operates the safety line. The ice rescue boat is placed on the ice surface and the rescuer then boards the ice rescue boat in a prone position with his feet on top of one or more of the panels 24, as shown in FIG. 1. He drives the pull pins 28 and 30 into the ice and pulls himself and the boat along the surface of the ice and toward the individual to be rescued while the partner stays on shore or other safe place. lt may be readily appreciated that the ice rescue boat weighs only 120 pounds and has a substantial bottom surface so that the weight is well distributed on the ice surface. Furthermore, the rescuer must lie flat on the boat so that his weight is distributed over the boat; therefore, there is very little likelihood of the ice rescue boat with the rescuer aboard breaking through the ice. However, should the ice rescue boat break through the ice, the person operating the safety line on the shore or other safe place, may pull the boat out of the breakthrough; the rescuer may then take another route to the person in danger. It should be noted that the present construction utilizing a flat bottom allows the boat to move readily on snow, spongy ice or ice having a soft surface and even ice covered with a layer of water. When the rescuer gets to the individual in danger, the individual may hold onto the handles 40 and 42. Upon a signal to the rescuers partner on the shore. the boat can be pulled back with the person rescued holding onto the handles. However, in instances when the person in danger is unable to hold onto the handles, it may be necessary for the rescuer to hold onto the individual. He may pull the boat into the water and the buoyancy of the boat will hold the boat up. It should be noted that the boat may tilt down, the rescuer holds onto the person in danger and pulls him up over the bow of the boat. Even if the boat were to break through the ice, the boat would still float so that the rescuer and the person rescued would be out of the water. Then, it is a simple matter for the rescuer to signal his partner to pull back the boat, and the curved end of the boat allows the boat to ride over the edge of the ice and out of the water to be pulled back to safety. Once the boat is out of the water, the person rescued may be secured to the boat by straps or ropes which are secured to selected handles of the handles 40 and 42.

In view of the fact that the surface between the support for the rescuer and the bottom is filled with the closed cell rigid material, a portion of the ice rescue boat may go under water without any ill effects on the boat; that is, it will not be swamped and it will not sink. Thus, the boat has a high degree of safety. Furthermore, it will resist all punctures and it has a low center of gravity so that it may be utilized under all types of conditions.

Although a specific embodiment of the herein-disclosed invention has been shown and set forth in detail, it is readily apparent that those skilled in the art may make various modifications in the materials which are described and the specific dimensions of the boat which are set forth. It is to be expressly understood that the specific dimensions and materials have been set forth for the purposes of illustrating the applicants best mode of practicing the invention, and the invention is in no way limited to the instant illustration. It is to be expressly understood that the instant invention is limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ice rescue boat comprising, an elongated flat bottom, a pair of elongated spaced sides, each of said elongated sides having an elongated edge secured to the flat bottom, substantially flat rescuer support means connected to a second elongated edge of each of the elongated sides and spaced above said bottom, each of said second elongated edges being opposed to each of the respective first-mentioned elongated edges, and a light weight closed cell foam material substantially filling the space between the bottom and the rescuer support means and between the elongated sides.

2. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 1, wherein the width of the boat is greater than two feet and the length is more than three times the width.

3. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 2, wherein said pair of spaced sides extending between the rescuer support means and the bottom are parallel to each other. and including a handle attached to each of the sides adjacent to one end of the boat to provide a means for an individual being rescued to hold onto the boat.

4. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 2, wherein the rescuer support means includes a plurality of spaced cross bars, a plurality of rigid sheets between selected cross bars to protect the light weight closed cell foam material, and a loop connected to the stern of the boat to provide a means for receiving a safety line.

5. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 2, wherein said pair of sides extending longitudinally of said boat and extending between the rescuer support means and the bottom are parallel to each other, and including a handle attached to each of said sides, and said bottom being curved at its opposed spaced longitudinal ends.

6. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 2, wherein the elongated flat bottom has its longitudinally spaced ends curved upward, the rescuer support means is a plurality of spaced top supports having opposed ends fixed to the sides, a loop is connected to the stern of the boat to provide a convenient means for securing a safety line to the boat, and means for engaging the ice surface for propelling the boat is connected to each side.

7. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 1, including means for engaging an ice surface for manually propelling the boat connected to the rescuer support means.

8. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 1, wherein the elongated flat bottom has upwardly curved edges at its longitudinally spaced ends.

9. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 1, including means for protecting a portion of the light weight closed cell foam material against damage by a rescuer on the boat.

10. An ice rescue boat as defined in claim 1, wherein the pair of elongated sides extending between the bottom and the rescuer support means are parallel to each other, and the rescuer support means includes a plurality of parallel supports extending between the sides.

11. An ice rescue boat comprising, an elongated flat bottom having a pair of longitudinally spaced opposed, upwardly curved ends, said bottom having a width of greater than two feet and a length of more than three times the width, a pair of elongated sides fixed to said bottom, a plurality oflight weight closed cell foam material blocks adhesively secured to said bottom substantially filling the space between said pair of elongated sides, a pair of chains, each of said chains having one end fixed to a respective side, an elongated pointed pull pin fixed to the other end of each of the chains, a handle fixed to each of said sides adjacent to one end of said boat. a plurality of top supports extending between and fixed to the sides, a plurality of rigid sheets between a second plurality of top supports adjacent to the middle of the length of the sides to provide a protection cover for the blocks below the rigid sheets, a pair of rigid cross supports each being fixed between the sides at opposite elongated ends of the sides, a ring fixed to one of said cross supports and being adapted to receive a line from a life ring, and a loop fixed to the other of said rigid cross supports and being adapted to receive a safety line.

@3 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent: No. 3,532,065 Dated October 6 1970 Inventor(s) Russell E. Clemans It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent: and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

For the name of the Assignee, please cancel "Michael R. Buz" and substitute --Michael R. Berz--.

SIGNED mu QEALED (SEAL) Attest:

EdwardMFletcherJn WHILIAII I. -o: n {-r m,

LAttcsting 0mmmission f Patents 

